Photography: A Few Lighting Tricks

Updated on October 7, 2015

Using a tripod frees up a hand to manipulate other objects in the frame | Source

Light Bounce Is Not Always a Bad Thing

In my first article on photographic lighting, I explained how light can bounce and ruin a photo. There is a way, however, to use that very same light bounce to enhance your photo. This is a trick most useful outdoors, but it can also be put to use indoors as well for a portrait sitting.

You will need some simple supplies, and possibly an assistant.

tripod for the camera

white foam-core board

artist's easel (or that assistant)

Tripods are among the most basic of tools for anyone interested in taking more than casual snapshots. Besides holding the camera absolutely steady, use of a tripod also frees up one of your hands to hold or manipulate something else if need be (as with the tape measure in the photo above). If you are using your camera on "macro" setting, or zoomed in on telephoto setting, a tripod is not an option, it is a must! That magnification also magnifies any shake or vibration and will result in a fuzzy out-of-focus image.

If you don't have the foam-core board available to you, a large piece of white cardboard will do in a pinch..but it can cause problems because it may not be rigid enough to stand without collapsing. Again, an assistant can help with this. (Alternately, clamps can be used, if there is a near enough surface to which anything can be clamped.)

I list an artist's easel as an alternative to an assistant if no one is available to help, but anything you can rig up that will hold your foam board still and in the position you want will work, for example you could use white-headed thumb tacks or push-pins to fasten it to the side of a saw horse.

Why Not Just Use the Flash?

For one thing, the camera's flash is hard, harsh lighting and not pleasing for a portrait effect. The pros use expensive cameras with a detachable flash unit they can use to bounce the flash off a nearby wall or the ceiling, giving a softer light. Most of us can't afford the cameras with that capability.

Secondly, you might have an "awwwwww...sooooo cuuuute" moment with a sleeping baby and/or pet, and you don't want to wake them up with a sudden flash of bright light.

Eliminating Shadows Without Using Flash

This is one of the tricks used by the "big boys" for getting that soft portrait lighting using natural light. One caveat: this is only usable on either sleeping subjects, or those old enough (or in the case of pets, well-trained enough) to understand remaining still while you set up.

This can be done either indoors or outdoors, but outdoors, you may have breezes to contend with, and you will need that helper.

Let's set up a possible scenario:

You are at a picnic, and your child has fallen asleep under a tree with a half-eaten apple in her hand. Too cute. However, it is a large tree, and casts a deep shadow. Here is the setup:

Observe the position of the sun

Mount your camera on the tripod at the angle you want for the photo

Have your helper hold the foam board opposite the sun, so the light bounces off toward the shadow cast by the tree

This will cast a very soft added bit of light onto your subject, lessening the depth of the shadow.

You can also use a silver-coated board, or something shiny such as one of those insulated sunshades made for car windshields, but this does give a harsher light, though not as harsh as using the flash on the camera.

Now, don't tell me you didn't bring all your supplies with you! Anyone serious about photography and improving their pictures never travels without all the "might need" items! Don't forget that kitchen sink! ;-)

Near-Window Portrait

Softened shadows on near side using white board reflector | Source

The reflector set-up | Source

Portraits

A very nice informal portrait can be taken with the subject posed next to a window. The natural light coming in the window makes a nice soft glow...ifthe sun is not shining directly into that window. This is why artists favor north-facing windows. If you have no north-facing windows, just use a window opposite the current position of the sun...i.e., west in the morning; east in the afternoon.

For even softer light, leave the curtains closed, assuming they are sheers. If they are not sheer, open them. You will notice the side of your subject away from the window (near side) will be in fairly deep shadow, and the features will be almost a silhouette in the final photo.

To eliminate this shadow, using your artist's easel or assistant, position your foam board reflector fairly close to the subject, but just out of view of the camera, facing the window. The light will bounce off the board, and lessen the shadows. The overall effect is a very soft light, almost a glow.

This technique, on a much larger scale, is also used in Hollywood movie production. You also see it in professional photography studios, with their reflector flash units, where the flash is facing away from the subject into a reflective umbrella gizmo.

Videography

You can also use this when shooting video, but you must be very, very careful, or the end result will look very amateurish and be a distraction instead of an asset.

It is best put to use with a stationary subject, such as an interview. Your reflector board must be large enough to light the entire shadow side of the subject, and it is imperative that it be held absolutely still, and the camera should be on a tripod as well.

In this case, that easel, sawhorse or clamp arrangement is essential. The very worst effect you can have is for that reflected light to be moving and bouncing about like a kid playing with reflecting the sun off a pocket mirror.

If you are conducting an interview about anything the least bit serious, a flaw of that nature with your lighting setup will not only be distracting, but it will detract from the credibility of your overal work. Yes, people do make those kinds of leaps in judgement.

Practice Makes Perfect

Or so they say. As I'm fond of saying, "Anyone looking for absolute perfection is on the wrong danged planet!"

Practice will certainly make you a more accomplished photographer whose photos are worthy of admiration instead of avoidance.

Go play, and have fun! For the majority of us, photography is a hobby, not a job, so enjoy the process!

Plumber's snakes: how to use them for clearing simple clogs. Save yourself the cost of a plumber's visit. D.I.Y. household maintenance and repairs.

Comments 19 comments

photostudiosupply 4 years ago from Rochester, New York

I must say very helpful article. Good job Lizzy!!!!!

DzyMsLizzy 4 years ago from Oakley, CA Author

Hello, jaswinder64--

Thank you very much for your comment--it is much appreciated, and I'm pleased you found the article useful.

jaswinder64 4 years ago from Toronto, Canada.

Your article is very useful, its informative and helpful. Thanks for writing to help people.

DzyMsLizzy 5 years ago from Oakley, CA Author

Thanks, Fossillady! I'm glad you found it useful. Those manual can be a bore to read, and confusing, as well. Manuals are written by the "techie" people, and not by "word people," and certainly not by English majors. LOL

Fossillady 5 years ago from Saugatuck Michigan

Very useful information and so much better than reading a manual!

DzyMsLizzy 5 years ago from Oakley, CA Author

Hi, Erin--

Glad I could provide some assistance. I have a new hub in the works on capturing kids and pets. ;-)

All the best to you!

Erin LeFey 5 years ago from Maryland

Very useful in formation - thanks so much for sharing it! I needed help with just this subject not too long ago! Namaste.

DzyMsLizzy 5 years ago from Oakley, CA Author

Thanks, Steph!

Glad you found something useful to take with you.

;-) All the best!

stephhicks68 5 years ago from Bend, Oregon

Really awesome tips and information! I love the photographs I get with the flash off and near windows streaming in natural light. I will have to experiment with the light bounce ideas. I often turn off the flash because - as you note - its too harsh. But those pesky shadows... Best, Steph

DzyMsLizzy 5 years ago from Oakley, CA Author

s.wilson--

Thanks for stopping by; I'm glad you liked the article. Thanks, too for your input. Chairs are indeed an excellent substitute for an easel, and waxed paper or a single-thickness of facial tissue can also be good flash diffusers.

However, if the flash is built into the camera body, they can be tricky to use without also obscuring part of the lens, at least if you are trying to hold the diffuser in place by hand as you snap. Removable scotch-tape might be the answer there.

Cheers!

s.wilson 5 years ago

Great, informative article! I use a chair often times instead of an easel, as I have a lot of chairs. Wax paper can be a great way to diffuse on camera flash if that is what you are stuck with.

DzyMsLizzy 5 years ago from Oakley, CA Author

Hi, Wayne!

Thanks! I'm sure you could use a white sheet for an indoor reflector...outdoors, wind could be an issue, as it would be harder to keep it still. As far as a "backdrop" for a portrait--it depends on the effect you want. Here, in one of my Etsy listings, you can see how a white backdrop looks when I used my daughter as a model.

It's very harsh, and not at all portrait-like. Big difference! However, I was not after a portrait, I was simply showing the product on a plain background without distracting elements. To that end, I "Photo-Shopped" it to even eliminate the panels on the door in front of which she was standing. ;-)

Cheers!

Wayne Brown 5 years ago from Texas

Well aren't you just the idea person with this one...good stuff and well-written too! I assume that if you are doing a portrait that it would be possible to use a white sheet as a backdrop for reflecting light...is that the case? WB

DzyMsLizzy 5 years ago from Oakley, CA Author

Hi, Jamie--

Look on your camera's setting controls--you may have a macro setting without needing to install a separate lens. The "macro" setting is most often indicated by a little flower icon--usually looking something like a tulip. If so, that is your extreme-close-up (ECU) setting. Macro is useful for subjects within about 30" of the lens.

For a close-up effect of something you cannot actually get close to, use the zoom control (marked on one side with a "W" (for "wide,") and a "T" (for "telephoto") on the other.

On most cameras, this is a rocker-type switch. For either macro or telephoto zoom, a tripod is not an option but a necessity.

Best wishes!

Jamie Brock 5 years ago from Texas

Thank you for these great tips, MsLizzy. I can't wait to read your other photo hub. I asked about close ups because a friend of mine got a macro lens a while back and her close up pictures are stunning.. My camera pales in comparison to hers but I often wonder if there is a way to get some good and decent close ups with my camera..maybe there is some technique out there I'm missing out on.. I've looked in the manual and really can't find anything on it.

Thanks again for this awesome hub!

DzyMsLizzy 5 years ago from Oakley, CA Author

Hi, Jamie,

I'm glad you found the information useful. You might want to read my other photo hub, and I do plan on doing an article about things like close-ups and color balance.

I can tell you briefly, however, that if you are taking photos under normal room lighting with regular (not flourescent) bulbs, things WILL look yellow, because that is the color of those type of lights. We cannot see it with our eyes as a yellow tint, but the camera can see it.

Try using daylight out doors, instead or the next-to-a-window method described in this hub.

If you have a program like PhotoShop, it is pretty easy to fix with either the "adjust auto levels" or "color balance" tools. Otherwise, it is a matter of struggling through the camera manual with particular attention to the section on white-balancing.

Best wishes.

Jamie Brock 5 years ago from Texas

Thank you for the awesome information on photography and lighting... I have this problem with my digital camera that everything looks danky and yellow.. I don't really like using the flash much because like you said above.. it's so harsh. I've tried to read the manual that came with the camera but it's hard to understand.. do you have any tips about taking pics close up, maybe?

Thanks for the great hub!

DzyMsLizzy 5 years ago from Oakley, CA Author

Hi, Nell!

LOL--thanks--be sure and direct him to my other photo hub, as well--only 2 so far to worry about. Hee hee

Nell Rose 5 years ago from England

Hi, this is great! I was just talking on the phone to my brother and he was saying that he wanted a new camera but was useless at taking photos! ha ha bookmarked so my stupid brother gets the right idea! cheers nell